Tweenbots - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

FuglyStick · 04-12-2009, 10:10 PM

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In New York, we are very occupied with getting from one place to another. I wondered: could a human-like object traverse sidewalks and streets along with us, and in so doing, create a narrative about our relationship to space and our willingness to interact with what we find in it? More importantly, how could our actions be seen within a larger context of human connection that emerges from the complexity of the city itself? To answer these questions, I built robots.

Tweenbots are human-dependent robots that navigate the city with the help of pedestrians they encounter. Rolling at a constant speed, in a straight line, Tweenbots have a destination displayed on a flag, and rely on people they meet to read this flag and to aim them in the right direction to reach their goal.

Given their extreme vulnerability, the vastness of city space, the dangers posed by traffic, suspicion of terrorism, and the possibility that no one would be interested in helping a lost little robot, I initially conceived the Tweenbots as disposable creatures which were more likely to struggle and die in the city than to reach their destination. Because I built them with minimal technology, I had no way of tracking the Tweenbot’s progress, and so I set out on the first test with a video camera hidden in my purse. I placed the Tweenbot down on the sidewalk, and walked far enough away that I would not be observed as the Tweenbot––a smiling 10-inch tall cardboard missionary––bumped along towards his inevitable fate.

The results were unexpected. Over the course of the following months, throughout numerous missions, the Tweenbots were successful in rolling from their start point to their far-away destination assisted only by strangers. Every time the robot got caught under a park bench, ground futilely against a curb, or became trapped in a pothole, some passerby would always rescue it and send it toward its goal. Never once was a Tweenbot lost or damaged. Often, people would ignore the instructions to aim the Tweenbot in the “right” direction, if that direction meant sending the robot into a perilous situation. One man turned the robot back in the direction from which it had just come, saying out loud to the Tweenbot, "You can’t go that way, it’s toward the road.”

The Tweenbot’s unexpected presence in the city created an unfolding narrative that spoke not simply to the vastness of city space and to the journey of a human-assisted robot, but also to the power of a simple technological object to create a complex network powered by human intelligence and asynchronous interactions. But of more interest to me was the fact that this ad-hoc crowdsourcing was driven primarily by human empathy for an anthropomorphized object. The journey the Tweenbots take each time they are released in the city becomes a story of people's willingness to engage with a creature that mirrors human characteristics of vulnerability, of being lost, and of having intention without the means of achieving its goal alone. As each encounter with a helpful pedestrian takes the robot one step closer to attaining it's destination, the significance of our random discoveries and individual actions accumulates into a story about a vast space made small by an even smaller robot.

Crack · 04-12-2009, 10:16 PM

I don't understand if this was an art project or something more scientific...

inBOIL · 04-12-2009, 11:10 PM

D'awwww, they're so cute. This seems more artsy than scientific, although the possibilities for scientific research are intriguing. I'd like to see how much difference there is between people's willingness to help cute robots vs. ugly robots. Or robots vs. children.

FuglyStick · 04-12-2009, 11:34 PM

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Originally Posted by inBOIL

D'awwww, they're so cute. This seems more artsy than scientific, although the possibilities for scientific research are intriguing. I'd like to see how much difference there is between people's willingness to help cute robots vs. ugly robots. Or robots vs. children.

See, I thought about this too, and I don't think people would be as willing to help another person.

I'm a 40 year old male. If I came across a child, 4 or 5 years old, that's obviously lost and separated from their guardian, I'm not going to go within 10 feet of the child. I'll call the police, and stay where I can see them, and address whoever comes to get the child if they get there before the police do, but I'm not going to put myself in a situation where I might be accused of dubious intentions sometime later. Is that calloused? You bet. But these are the times we are living in. Other people's distrust and paranoia have to be taken into consideration, even by potential good Samaritans.

And if the person needing help is older, the question is "what is this person's motive?" I am much more likely to help an adult than a child (and by an adult, I mean an honest to God, over 18 adult), with the knowledge that my assistance may just be a means to an ulterior motive. Flat tires? I can see that flat tire, I can assess the problem for myself, and I won't hesitate to lend a hand changing it. You want me to give you a ride? Now I can't assess the situation, so you most likely won't be getting a ride.

A little robot that wants you to help steer him in the right direction? Little robots don't have ulterior motives, so why not give him a hand?

04-12-2009, 10:16 PM	#2 (permalink)
Crack Misanthropic Location: Ohio! yay!	I don't understand if this was an art project or something more scientific... __________________ Crack, you and I are long overdue for a vicious bout of mansex. ~Halx

04-12-2009, 11:10 PM	#3 (permalink)
inBOIL I have eaten the slaw	D'awwww, they're so cute. This seems more artsy than scientific, although the possibilities for scientific research are intriguing. I'd like to see how much difference there is between people's willingness to help cute robots vs. ugly robots. Or robots vs. children. __________________ And you believe Bush and the liberals and divorced parents and gays and blacks and the Christian right and fossil fuels and Xbox are all to blame, meanwhile you yourselves create an ad where your kid hits you in the head with a baseball and you don't understand the message that the problem is you.